Some news out of this afternoon's unveiling of the
team's 2009 uniforms:
* "Nationals manager Manny Acta and outfielder Lastings Milledge said on Thursday afternoon they would like President-elect Barack Obama to throw out the first pitch at the team's home opener against the Phillies on April 13." (
MLB.com)
* "The Nationals also released a preliminary schedule that features six weekday games. They include the April 13 opener against the World Series champion Phillies at 3:05 p.m., 12:35 p.m. starts against Houston on May 5 and Florida on Aug. 7, and three 4:35 p.m. games on the final days of home stands. The team did not play any weekday afternoon games last year, during its inaugural season at
Nationals Park, because of worries how traffic and parking would be impacted in the neighborhoods surrounding the stadium. Additionally, the start time for Friday night games has been moved from 7:35 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. Last season, several scheduled Friday fireworks nights were canceled because slow-moving games pushed the Nationals past a curfew team officials had agreed upon with neighborhood leaders." (
Examiner)